35 Comments

I love your father. I love your relationship with your father. I love that you share both with us. Thank you.

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Thank you for reading it!

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Please bring us more word debates! I’m gonna start using yesterday night. And frequently feel gruntled already!

Fabulous wordplay from you both!

Such fun!

(Sorry about all the exclamation marks, they felt very necessary. )

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I second this request - Unfortunately I know things don't write themselves they have to occur to be written about... But I want more word battles myself

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As they often are when he’s involved.

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🙄 When teaching my daughter to drive the family van, I would lob an empty 5 gallon bucket across her path, teaching evasive maneuvers! (safely, in an empty parking lot!!) She now drives like a Moroccan taxi driver! (total respect to Morrocan taxi drivers 👍)

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😂

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I (feel) I'm getting older and wonder if I need a philologist.

I feel like some part of dad's strategy is like the Johnny Cash song, 'Boy named Sue'. I was just trying to toughen you up!

Almost you convince me to drink tea.(!)

A fun, fun post; (thank you for your experience!)

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So you think there’s a strategy!

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Pomegranate tea, yum! Had the green tea version in the past, suspect the black tea version is equally tasty.

I an inspired to recall a conversation with my parents shortly after settling in our hometown. There was (is) a Ninth Avenue and a Fifth Avenue, and I wondered aloud why they were pronounced differently.

I was five or six at the time and they had nothing in response.

I guess you could say I've been playing with the English language for a long time...

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That’s such an interesting question!

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I'm kind of mad that I didn't think of the leaf gag. Chris would have totally bought it.

Ask your father why the verb whelm means "to overwhelm."

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You writing is both insightful and entertaining. 🌹

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Thank you 💕

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After an uphill slog going down hill is welcome respite. Context is everything.

I'm having a discussion as to whether warn and worn are pronounced exactly the same or if they are subtly different.

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I don't really know how I didn't realize this... And now i'm sitting here saying warn ... worn..... warn.. worn. If I lived with anybody they'd think I was having a stroke!

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Different, obviously!

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I always love the wordplay between you and your Dad.....they're hilarious!!!! Love your Dad!!!!!

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I'll send him to your house!

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Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!! I will love him from afar!!! ;-)

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No wonder you write so well with a philogist father like that. That’s a lovely photo of you both. Despite the somewhat snarky banter between you both, your love for each other shines through.

Another great piece.

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Thank you 💕

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I completely agree with the idea of : gruntled as well as gruntling. In fact I can't imagine that those aren't actually words. Ah, all the repartee with your father for so many years!

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He’d argue they ARE words...

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It sounds like he might gladly argue just about anything, as long as someone consents to be the other half of his argument.

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Perfect!

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If I could have a note saying so to bring to my father... 😉

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Brilliant. And I do love iced tea.

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Come on over!

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I went and made a batch of Ginger Mango Iced tea this morning after reading this . . . I mean the stuff about your Dad was great and all . . .

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Understood!

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Listen here you questionable influence, I have enough tea. I HAVE. ENOUGH. TEA.

But I don't have pomegranate tea, and it IS iced tea season...

Do you get some kind of kickbacks for leading your innocent readers so unapologetically down the road to perdition?

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No... but let's figure out a way!

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Your father is a gem... i am so glad to hear a new dad story! I am downi g so much of my Hibiscus ginger tea lately.

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Yum!

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